Secrets Only Keep Us Close
by ncisduckie
Summary: During Season 2, Spike kisses damsel-Buffy on Halloween and a secret relationship sparks. Can they keep it a secret and still act normal? Please R&R! Hopefully fluffy BXS Rated 'T' for colorful language!
1. Halloween

**Halloween**

"Look at you. Shaking, terrified. Alone. Lost like a little lamb," Spike grins devilishly. Buffy whimpers under his gaze and blinks her tears away. As Spike walks toward her, she cowers away, straight into a few packing boxes. "I love it," Spike smirks and slaps her across the face, causing Buffy's face to redden almost immediately. His fingers linger on the sensitive skin and he does a short caress of the whimpering damsel's face. The previous impact brings tears to her eyes. The gentle touch of his cold fingers, though, brings some sort of odd cold comfort that she keeps inside.

"Buffy!" Angel calls as he struggles against Spike's minions. He hates watching his grandchild torture his girlfriend, but if he doesn't defend himself from the minions he might risk a group feeding off of the now innocent slayer as he lays in a pile of dust on the floor.

Spike rolls his eyes and pulls Buffy's hair back with the hand that still lay on her face and jerks her body closer from the small of her back with the other hand. He leans into the crook of her neck and inhales deeply. "Mmmmm, the blood of a Slayer; I wonder why your bloke of a boyfriend never took a taste of you," He grins against the golden skin of the Slayer, "No, I don't wonder. He's all high and mighty with that shiny new—I mean _unwanted_—soul of his. He could never give you what you want, pet."

Buffy closes her eyes and a single crystal tear escapes from her eye and Spike, instead of biting her like originally planned, lays his icy lips on her neck. Buffy sinks into the kiss and a moment of pure bliss appears on her face. When she realizes that Spike is the vampire that wants to kill her, her euphoria and ecstasy turn into disgust and she chokes up again. The soft whimpers bring the bleached vampire back into reality and he pulls his face away at super speed. "You," he growls with a terrified look on his face. He vamps-out and lunges at the slayer's neck with all his rage put into this movement.

Just seconds before his teeth broke the skin of Buffy's neck, a pulse is sent through the room and the minions Angel is fighting turn back into young children and high school students, Army-Xander holds a plastic toy gun, and most of all, Damsel-Buffy turns back to normal. She roundhouse kicks Spike off of her body and both he and her wig fly across the room. "Hey, honey, I'm home," she says with a sarcastic smile.

She walks across the room too where he lay and kicks him in the gut repeatedly. After witnessing blood surface under his newly ripped shirt, she pulls him up to his feet. Buffy pulls his ear to her face, "You even _think_ about touching me like you did—_kissing_ me like you did—you'll regret being undead. I'll _bury_ you." She pushes him back into the wall, watches him run away, and turns back to her friends. "Ya' know, _this_ is what I like about being me."

"What the heck just happened here? It's giving me the wiggins'! And why was bleach boy here?" Xander sputters as he looks around at his surroundings.

Cordelia rolls her eyes, "Do I _have _to explain all of this again? I told you that you were an ar—"

"I get_ that_, Cordy!" Xander says in exasperation. "I meant _why_. And, for your information, I remember it all."

Before a "lover's quarrel" could break out, Buffy steps in between the two. "Is everybody okay?" She looks at everybody to make sure there are no major injuries.

Angel shakes his head and steps toward his lover, "Are _you_ okay?" He asks gently. She gives a nod as a response for she did not want to worry him. She had a sinking feeling deep in her gut that something was amiss in the world.

"Thank you for asking, Angel," Cordelia says, butting into the conversation. "I don't think I would have been able to survive tonight without you, you're my hero. A very…vampy hero, but still," she smiles brightly.

Angel completely ignores her, "Let's take you home," he tells Buffy. She once again nods, deep in thought, leaving Cordelia in awe.

"I thought I was talking, my mouth was moving…" She says quietly, still stunned from being rejected for _Buffy_.

Xander smiles weakly, "There's no getting in between them, Cordy," he tugs at her arm, "Now, come on, let's go home. This is enough excitement for tonight."

"I just don't understand," Cordelia says weakly as she allows herself to be led out by Xander. "Why would he choose her?"

Xander halts in the middle of the door way, "Where's Willow?"

. . .

Willow arises from the porch she lay on before she was ghost-afied. The "Boo" sheet is rumpled next to her and she moves to cover her skimpy clothing choices. She thinks about it, thinking about what had happened earlier in the night, then tosses the sheet onto the doorstep and walks confidently across the street.

Oz watches a smiling Willow from his band wagon and his mouth hangs open. "Who _is_ that girl?"

. . .

Buffy walks into her room, scrubbed clean and hair in a ponytail. "Tada, it's just little ol' twentieth century me. Not very impressive, huh?" She walks over to her bed and plops down next to Angel.

"I still don't get it, why did you dress like that?" Angel questions. He was never good with women when he was alive, so being dead and talking to women is even worse.

Buffy smiles weakly, "To impress you? That's the kind of girl you used to go for, right? When you were mortal? Anyway, it was a stupid idea. I get it. I'll live through _yet another_ botched mistake in life." When she says mistake, she flashes to when Spike kissed her neck and she actually liked it. It made her feel…she didn't know, but it was a good feeling. Like butterflies.

"I didn't like those girls. They were kind of stuck up in their high-society lives. I have only loved one woman. And that's you," He gives her a small smile and reaches for her hand. When she recoils, he knows for a _fact_ that something is up. "What's wrong, Buffy?

She adverts her eyes, "Nothing, I'm just tired. Today was very…exciting, I guess. It's a lot to take in." She says, stretching her arms above her head. "I think I just need some sleep," she fake yawns and Angel does not notice her acting.

He gives her a sad look, like always, and gives her a kiss on the forehead. He moves from the bed and starts toward the window. Before leaving, he turns back, "Sweet Dreams." He turns back and jumps down into the tree.

As soon as Angel is gone, Buffy sighs and lies back into her bed. She couldn't get the past night's events out of her head. Every time she closes her eyes she can feel the rush of emotions from Spike's kiss and she can feel his hands touch her face. She felt completely safe in his arms even though his initial intent was to _kill_ her.

Thinking about the kiss makes her shudder, and her eyes begin to droop. She then starts to fall into a blissful sleep. Her dreams are filled with visions of her bleached enemy and herself kissing. _Once_ with rising music, _more with_ a great amount of _feeling**_ and passion in The Bronze, and lastly in what seemed to be the basement of a renovated Sunnydale High.*** **She sleeps the best she has ever slept since she returned to Sunnydale after she died.

. . .

Spike paces the room thinking about that night's events. He didn't know what happened, or what brought him to kiss Buffy tenderly. Drusilla watches him with great interest from her place on the bed, "I smell her, you know. The slayer. She hurt you didn't she?" She asks in her soft hypnotic voice.

"Course she did. She's the Slayer. Stupid bint, she's getting in my head!" Spike almost shouts. When Drusilla recoils and tears spring to her eyes, his face softens. "Oh, Princess, I didn't mean to yell. It's the damned slayer, she's getting to me."

"When I look at you, all I see is her. The slayer with the blonde hair. She's all you think about." She tells him softly, and then her face twists in disgust, "I used to see me. We would dance for hours and hours under the stars," she looks up at the ceiling, "Just like these stars. But now I see you and her dancing. I see you and her sleeping together. I see... horrible visions about you loving her*. Why?"

Spike looks at her with eyes wide with disgust. "I could never love a _human_—a slayer at that-I only care for _you_, luv." He says this as a reassurance as he attempts to push Buffy out of his mind. "You're still goin a bit crazy, don't you think? Your visions are being messed with. They're all wrong."

Drusilla's sorrowful and scared look turns into a look of anger, "If my visions are wrong, then why have they been right? I _told_ you that the slayer was going to be different! And now, _you're_ different! What did she do to my Spikey?"

"I don't want to talk about it," He says both stubbornly and quietly. He turns and walks to the door abruptly, "I'm going to go find a snack. If I find a good one, I'll bring you someone back," He says over his shoulder. He saunters out of the room, with the wings on his duster flapping around.

"Don't come back smelling like _her_!" She calls softly. She turns to one of her dolls, "Now let's get you changed, Miss Ailith. We want you looking nice for tomorrow's tea, or Miss Edith won't want to play anymore."

. . .

Spike walks along the streets of Sunnydale in anger-filled thought. He couldn't believe what his Dru had told him and he didn't want to believe it. He would _never_ love the slayer, the thought of it is bloody insanity. "She doesn't know anything; she still feels a pull of love for the man that made her crazy, so her mindset is all crazy. I don't love the slayer. I can't _stand _the bloody bitch." Spike allows himself to mindlessly walk the streets, so when he bumps into a tree, he can't help but curse the world. He rubs his head where it hit the tree and he takes in his surroundings. His feet have taken him to his worst enemy. The reason for his stroll in the streets.

He currently stands in the front lawn of 0000 Revello Drive and his eyes fill with anger and hatred at the sight. "Bloody hell," he mumbles to himself. He can smell her all around and he flashes back to earlier that night again. _She_ told him that if he even thought of kissing her, she would bury him, but he just couldn't help himself. He develops a strong urge to see her and he tries to turn around. Against his will, he begins the short climb up the aforementioned tree. When level with the roof, he jumps as silently as a cat to Buffy Summers's window.

The sight of her sleeping figure makes his undead heart melt. He watches as her chest rises and falls and as her eyes flutter periodically. Buffy gasps in her sleep, and Spike rolls his eyes for he thinks she is dreaming about her poof of a boyfriend. "Oh, Spike," She moans softly. She smiles and turns toward her wall.

Spike's jaw drops as he listens to the Slayer's dreams. Her words cause his hand to slip and bang against the window. Buffy stirs and sits up in her bed. Spike crawls away from the window and hides deep in the shadows. Moments after the darkness envelops the bleached vampire, Buffy opens her window and peeks out. "Angel?" She calls softly to avoid her mother coming to check on her. "Angel is that you?"

A low chuckle escapes from Spike's lips before he can stop it. He couldn't believe he was being mistaken for the bloody brooder. "Who the hell is out there?" Buffy calls out, keeping calm, "It's not funny. I know very well how to kill you!" With no response, she grabs the stake next to her window and sticks a leg out on to the roof.

When he sees Buffy's leg, Spike shimmies back into the dim light. "Don't get your panties in a twist, Slayer," He says softly. His voice and sight cause Buffy to jump a little and she loses her balance. She slowly slides down the shingles and yelps a little. She tries to claw her way up and fails. Spike, with his super speed, jumps at her and grasps her hands and to pull her up. When she is safe again, Buffy takes a much needed breath. She eyes Spike suspiciously and moves to sit on her windowsill.

"What do you want, Spike?" She asks, trying to seem annoyed. She was trying because when she jumped with surprise, her heart jumped with joy and she hated the feeling. His voice had brought her back to when he kissed her as well as her dreams and visions of other passionate embraces between her and the bleached vampire.

"What does it look like? Stalking my prey, pet." Spike sputters out after searching for a decent excuse. He did not want her to know that he was watching her in her sleep for reason unknown to himself. Her figure had enthralled him and he was shown a vision of a passionate embrace with rising music.*

Buffy rolls her eyes, "You're a terrible liar."

"Thanks for noticing, luv," Spike smirks. He loves watching her while she's annoyed at him. She does a little thing with her mouth that's in between a smirk and a smile. He falters a bit when he thinks how he _loves_ something about her. He wasn't supposed to love her; he was supposed to hate her.

"You've seriously got to leave me alone, or I'll…" She trailed off as she thinks about a good threat she would never carry out. She could not bring herself to find a threat that would prevent her from killing the smug vampire.

Spike laughs, "You'll let Angel out on me? Oh, I'm so scared!" He laughs, and then brings himself into a serious state of mind. "What are you going to do when Angel leaves you? You know he'll never give you what you need," He quotes what he told her earlier, hoping to spark a good memory hidden deep within the slayer. He moves to where he's standing on the roof next to the windowsill, "Never."

Buffy closes her eyes, "Somewhere, deep down, I know that. But having Angel around makes me feel like I have a life out of my Slayer duties." She bites her lip, and a single tear flows from her eyes. The one thing she promises herself is that she refuses to break down in front of the enemy, even though she's been feeling a pull of desire all night, she swings her right leg inside of her room. "Just forget everything I said, I'm too tired for all of this; too tired for you."

As he watches Buffy's reaction to his word, Spike silently curses himself. He didn't want her to cry; he just wanted to see if she feels like he does about earlier. Apparently not. He reaches for her arm and his cold touch causes her to jump out of her skin, and she loses balance, again, and falls into his arms.

Buffy looks at Spike with extreme terror, "You just said 'sorry'," she accuses. "What would you be sorry about? You're a _monster_. You have no feelings!" She laughs wickedly and looks at him, waiting for an answer that would make her feel repulsed by his comforting cold grasp.

"For this," Spike hesitates for a second before leaning down and placing his lips upon Buffy's. Buffy gasps then sinks in to the kiss in delight and bliss. Tongues dance with tongues and limbs intertwine. Their eyes are closed with ecstasy and they feel like there is nobody else in the world.

Buffy's mind spins and Spike is filled with a soulful* happiness like he has never experienced. The two never want to end the kiss, but nature takes over and Buffy has to break away for the oxygen needed in her human body. She rests her head against Spike's chest and breathes heavily as he basks in what has just occurred. Buffy looks up into his cobalt eyes, "You're not forgiven," she breathes blissfully.

. . .

**A/N: It's DONE! I don't know if I should continue, but this story has been stuck inside of me since I first saw this episode last year. #EpicFail! Anyway, I would like to thank ****Noise from Nowhere** ,**Jhoi Marie Boli**** and ****Cappsy**** for beta-reading for moi. Also, I DO NOT own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm doing a letter campaign for full-ownership if anyone is interested, JK. Please Review! **


	2. Lie to Me Pt1

**Lie to Me**

**A/N: Just a warning to those who have already read part one of "Lie to Me"—I'm breaking this up into smaller parts so my head doesn't spin every time I try and edit… Sorry. I'm trying to get things done ASAP! **

"_Buffy's mind spins and Spike is filled with a soulful happiness like he has never experienced. The two never want to end the kiss, but nature takes over and Buffy has to break away for the oxygen needed in her human body. She rests her head against Spike's chest and breathes heavily as he basks in what has just occurred. Buffy looks up into his cobalt eyes, "You're not forgiven," she breathes blissfully."_

. . .

Buffy breathes heavily for a few more moments into Spike's black t-shirt. Her hands are still tied around his icy neck and his arms still coiled at her waist. "You know, if you tell _anyone_ about this, you'll have a nice dusty ending, right?" She looks up from under her eyelashes again and watches as Spike chuckles.

"Not a soul," Spike promises, and Buffy opens her mouth to remind him that vampires don't _have_ souls. He watches as she reacts and his eyebrows knit together. "I didn't mean it like _that_! Don't get your panties in a twist, luv. I simply mean I'm not going to tell anyone liv—undea—anyone. I don't need crap from anyone about this, if someone was to find out," Spike states as he thinks about how Drusilla is waiting for him at the warehouse, presumably fuming. Or making crazy small talk with her dolls. "And you tell your poof of a boyfriend or your little wannabe group, I'll bite your tiny little neck." To show how serious he was, he kissed her neck and nipped at it.

Buffy rolls her eyes, "Why would I tell anybody? They _all_ hate you, hell, _I_ hate you!" She shoots him a look that dared him to contradict her words. She didn't exactly hate him at this point, but he didn't have to know that. There was _something _about him that made her knees go weak and her Slayer senses to go haywire, but another thing that made her repulsed by him. She never understood reverse phycology, and she didn't really care.

He smirks and removes his hands from her waist, "'Course you do, luv," he says with a smirk. He uses his own hands too remove the Slayer's hands from around his own neck. "Now if you excuse me, I have to make it home before the sun makes me all crispy." He turns and jumps gracefully from the rooftop into the green grass.

"And the clock strikes twelve," Buffy murmurs to herself as she climbs back into her room. Her magical moments are now over and all there is to look forward to is school, since the night was over, sleep is out of the question.

The clock reads five A.M. She slowly trudges to her bed, to give her mom the allusion that she was sleeping all night long. Buffy's eyes droop with tiredness, but her body is hyped with electricity left over from Spike's kiss. She doesn't want to like it, for her heart was supposed to be devoted to Angel. She quivers on top of the bedspread before reluctantly getting up to ready herself to preoccupy herself. She doesn't feel like going to school after the previous night, but as the sun was rising, she goes against her will and dresses herself in sweat shorts and a tang-top and pulls her hair back with an elastic. She slips into her tennis shoes and heads out her door and downstairs. After jotting down a quick note for her mom, Buffy heads out the front door. All she intends is a short jog, no seeing Angel on the way. Nope. Just a jog.

. . .

Starting with a slow pace, Buffy starts down Revello Drive with one thing in mind. She did not want to admit so, but she wanted to see Angel. It wasn't the best of ideas because of the kiss she has just shared with her worst enemy. After a few minutes of the slug-like movement, she picks it up to a good run. Not sprinting, but pretty close. Her heart pounds and her muscles strain. Though others might back away from this intensity, Buffy embraces it for it helps her keep her mind off of the two vampires in her mind. Soon, she reaches the alleyway behind Angel's apartment type housing choice. '_Damn'_ she mutters to herself when she realizes where of all places she ended up. She knows she probably smells like the bleached blonde she was with earlier, but against her best judgment, she heads toward the door and knocks.

Moments pass and the door flies open. Nobody is at the doorway, and Buffy realizes the dawn has broken and the sun now shines through the door at this moment of time. "Sorry," she calls to Angel. Buffy steps awkwardly into the room and waits for the door to close. When she hears the slam of the door, she finally turns to Angel and gives him a weak smile. "I'm sorry to intrude; I was on a jog and I thought I'd surprise you."

Angel looks at her with his sad eyes and gives her an even sadder smile. "It's good to wake up to you, Buffy." He crosses his arms across his exposed chest. He wears a brown button down, unbuttoned, with a pair of what look like sweats. "So what had you out so early, and bright, in the morning? I don't suppose you're going to be at school on time," he teases slightly. He knows she would never be at school any earlier than five minutes late.

His question slightly perturbs Buffy and she looks away for a second. Snapping back into reality, she looks Angel in the eyes, "I couldn't sleep, and I was restless. Restless Buffy equals Grouchy Buffy. Grouchy Buffy is no fun for the gang at school." The lie comes easy to her and she throws in a smile for good measure. A moment of awkward silence passes before Buffy speaks up again, "So you wanna go patrolling tonight? I know it's a Wednesday, and vampires, for some reason do not like Wednesday's, so it would just a quite night. Just the two of us." Buffy's request scares even her with the bluntness. She knows Willow and Xander will probably want a day of rest after Halloween, so it is a perfect opportunity for a descript date.

Thinking for a moment, Angel blinks and gives her a sad look. But then again , he always gave her sad looks, so it wasn't really any different from his other emotions. "I don't think I can. I have to go… there's a lead on some," Angel struggles for words, "there's a lead on demon, and Giles wants me to check it out."

"I'll go with you!" She insists, her face brightening at the idea. The two of them, no chance at all of seeing Spike. She pictures herself and Angel walking in a dark alleyway and kissing somehow thrown in.

"No," he states bluntly with too much emotion for him. His words had a harsh undertone that instantly jolts Buffy out of her daydream.

"And why not?" She asks, not believing he has just told her no. That is like, foreign to her. Quickly, she pinches her arm to see if she's dreaming. She flinches with the pinch, her eyes spring up tears, but she stays in the same reality.

Thinking for a second before he replies, Angel gives Buffy a scared look. It's not _just_ scared, this look is pure petrification. His one look stumps Buffy and she furrows her brows together. Angel is a vampire of few words and even fewer emotions. If he didn't love her so much, she would swear he is gay. No straight ma—vampire in his right mind would carry so much devotion to hair care products. "It's not safe for you," he lies with lips tight. In all reality, he didn't want Buffy to meet Drusilla. When he knew Spike was in town, he just _knew_ that Dru was back in town. Yes, he is her sire, but he isn't exactly _proud _of his creation. He drove her insane and he doesn't think their reunion is the best thing for Buffy to see.

Buffy's eyes see right through Angel's feeble attempt at lying, and she's immediately pissed. "Liar," she seethes with eyes filled with deep anger. She _knew_ after the previous night, Angel was going to act all hinky. _Now_ he is. "What. Will. You. Be. Doing?" She asks bitterly, crossing her arms. The last thing Buffy wants is to have to end the relationship, for she would be left with only _Spike_. She gives an involuntary shudder and attempts to took Angel square on, but he adverts his eyes. His sad attempt to avoid the question sends Buffy over the edge and she throws her hands up in frustration. "Forget I even asked," she shouts as she heads for the door. She's so upset; she doesn't even bother to keep the sun away from Angel's skin, causing him to sizzle slightly.

Six in the morning comes around and Buffy finally arrives at her own doorstep to a fully clothed and awake Joyce. When Joyce notices that Buffy is huffing and puffing and _sweating_ from an actual jog, she gives a sigh of relief. "Thank God, I thought you ran away," she says with a over-dramatic tone that reminds Buffy she still has a life out of slaying and falling in love with vampires. Scratch that. There is _one _vampire and _never_ will there be another one. "And if you hurry up, I'll give you a ride and maybe get you a coffee from that place you like." Thankful that Buffy came back, Joyce will do anything do keep Buffy in her house and in her good favor.

At the mention of coffee Buffy instantly perked up from her sluggish movements post-jog. For the first time, Buffy looks Joyce directly in her eyes since Spike crashed Parent-Teacher Night a couple weeks ago. She could see the true joy and relief in her mother's eyes and that makes Buffy smile. "I'll be ready in ten!" With this, she rushes up the stairs and heads to the bathroom.

A five minute shower, some prep time, and some change later, Buffy heads down the steps wearing a white miniskirt, a light blue tee that bears her midriff off slightly, and her white tennis shoes. Her golden hair lies damp on her shoulders and her white knapsack is at rest upon her elbow. "Ready."

. . .

Fully caffeinated and almost an entire half an hour early, Buffy arrives on the Sunnydale High campus. Never being on an almost empty campus besides when she's doing slayer work late at night, Buffy relishes the silence and realizes how great being at school early actually is. This joy and serenity is quickly relished when Willow comes up behind Buffy franticly. "Buffy, what's going on? Is the apocalypse impending?" The red-head's eyes are wide with confusion and she's almost shaking. Willow has never seen Buffy here this early and something is definitely up. Something is certainly out of whack.

Willow's panic brings a bubble of laughter to Buffy's throat. The sudden giggle puzzles Willow even more and she tilts the head to the side, as if to say '_What?'_ Calming down, Buffy takes a deep breath and wipes a tear from her bottom lash line. "Nothing's wrong, Willow."

"There _has_ to be! You're never here early! What happened?" Willow insists, coming close to beginning to shake Buffy by the shoulders. "Was it something that happened last night? Is everything okay with Angel?" At the mention of Angel _and_ the previous night, Buffy's face darkens slightly. The sudden change in expression causes Willow to jump with delight. "Oooh! I knew it! Something happened! Was it bad?"

Sighing, Buffy knows she has to come clean about some of the past events. "I had I a fight with Angel," she admits sadly.

At this moment, Xander comes from behind and happens to hear the last thing Buffy said. "Goody, do we get to go all stake-y with him?" He asks with a huge smile on his face. His comment causes the two girls to frown slightly. Xander's smile dissipates. He doesn't understand why the two of them are so upset, they know for a fact that he hates Mr. Tall-Dark-And-Handsome with a burning passion. But what he doesn't know is Buffy was thinking the same thing and Willow has developed a small sort of crush on the broody vampire.

Moments after the initial awkward silence, Willow speaks up. "Not funny, Xan. Don't make joke's when Buffy's hurting." She shoots him a gentle knowing look before continuing. "Let's go to the Library!"

"Why?" Buffy and Xander ask in stereo. They can't believe Willow wants to go the library for the first time Buffy is there early. "Don't you want a day off? Buffy almost got killed by bleach boy yesterday and I was army guy a little bit too long. I think we deserve a day off from the bumpy foreheads," Xander elaborates. With the mention of Spike, Buffy's cheeks flush lightly in remembrance of their kiss the previous night. The blush goes unnoticed, which Buffy appreciates.

Though Xander's logic is spot on, Buffy knows better. She doesn't want the night off, she wants to know what Angel happens to be doing on this fine night _without_ her. "Evil never sleeps. Give up on your social life while you can," Buffy says as she pulls both Willow and Xander toward the library. Willow does a sort of happy dance as she allows herself to be dragged across the campus while Xander pouts, but allowing himself to be tugged. He hates to admit it, but he still has a small crush on the blonde.

Within minutes, the trio enters through the swing-y doors. Across the library, Giles looks up from his most current work, expecting his daily visit from Willow. When he spies all three members of the group, he takes off his glasses and proceeds to wipe them clean. One clean, again, Giles takes another look at the trio. "Is the apocalypse coming early?"

Buffy rolls her eyes at the repeated joke, "No, Giles. I got here early for once, is that so hard to believe?" She really didn't understand what the problem was with being at school early. When the end of the world _actually_ occurs, Buffy decides the group will really rue the day. They will regret this all. Except, the world wouldn't end in _her _lifetime, Buffy decides, so her plan is out.

"Are you ever going to be here early again?" Giles challenges, bursting Buffy from her thoughts.

Buffy thinks for a moment, "Nope. Never, It was a fluke."

"Exactly," he says, finally closing his book. "So, what do you guys need? Did Buffy find some new evil on her way home last night?" Giles asks, his excitement quickly rising. Most people would cower when they found out all the bad things in life were real, but ever since he found out about the reality, he became almost addicting to find out as much as possible about demons. He can happily say, he is addicted to his work.

Willow, about to speak up about how she just wants to be surrounded by the books, takes a look at her friend's tired faces. It looks like Xander got very little sleep and Buffy none at all. Scared about taking the initiative, Willow takes a deep breath. "We came to ask if we can take tonight off." The whole room looks at the red-head in bewilderment. They all never expected Willow to want a break from work and research.

The shock wears off and Giles speaks up, ready to destroy their hopes. "No, I'm afraid not. I have a feeling that something is going to happen pretty soon. Something bad." Little did he know, the worst is impending in about three weeks. Buffy's birthday will bring terrible things to the Scooby Gang, but that's not now. Now is now.

Xander breaks first. "Why not? Don't you know what happened last night?" Xander was unbelievably tired and didn't think he could go another night without a full night's sleep. Sure being in the Slayer's entourage is quite entertaining, but a guy has to sleep! Last night he had dwelled the night away in all the knowledge being in the army for a night left him with and the morning came too quickly.

"I know very well what happened last night, Xander. I know very well who was to blame for it as well. If we are not careful, Ethan Rayne will attack us again when we are most vulnerable. We need all hands on deck for the next couple days," Giles says, refusing to budge. He is scared of what might happen and he doesn't want to know when their guard is left down.

"Giles, calm down. Nothing is going to happen tonight. I'll patrol tonight, Will and Xander need their rest. They don't have super powers or anything, they are still human," Buffy tries to persuade her mentor. She wants the rest as well, but she _needs_ to find out what Angel is trying to hide. She gives Giles a look of pleading and he begins to crack because of his fatherly love towards the blonde.

Finally, Giles gives a sigh of defeat, "I guess they can take a break. But what about you?" He could tell she didn't get much sleep, if any at all.

Buffy shrugs during her friend's cheers of delight. "I'll take some other day off, you guys will be covered tonight. Today's Wednesday, vamps tend to prefer not going out. I'll be fine tonight." Buffy rambles. In her attempt to having her excuse sound real, she ends up looking suspicious under Giles's eyes.

"Okay, If that's what you'd like," Giles responds hesitantly. In his eyes, Buffy looks nervous, like she's hiding something. Or she wants to see Angel. Either options were not his favorite. He knows Buffy was in love with the vampire, but the whole logic of it all was just _wrong_. He decides he is going to allow her to do whatever tonight, but she _needs _a break tomorrow. Otherwise, Buffy will end up a bloody mess when her body begins to shut-down.

Relived, Buffy gives Giles a small smile just as the bell rings. "Does getting to school early mean that I actually have to in class? Don't I get brownie points?" Receiving only a slight eye roll from Giles, Buffy gives him an exaggerated frown and turns back to Xander and Willow. "Time for history, if I must," Buffy says as they begin to walk out of the library with big smiles on each of their faces.

The rest of the day went like normal, Buffy almost fell asleep in every one of her classes, only to be woken up from a playful shove from either Willow or Xander. No information was actually stored inside her brain for she kept thinking about Angel and his secrets. She could not think of any reason he would hide something from her. The questions and thoughts still float around in her mind trough school, dinner, and through what little homework Buffy accomplished. When midnight hits and her patrol must begin, Buffy still thinks about it as she maneuvers through her bedroom window and down the tree.

. . .

During that night's patrol, Buffy strolls leisurely atop a rooftop. She didn't know where she was going exactly, but she knew she was near the park. She hopes. All she could really think about at this point was school, and that wasn't the most exciting thing to have on the brain. The only thing keeping Buffy from going back home was the mere thought of maybe seeing Angel; at least she keeps telling herself it's only Angel she's hoping for, defiantly not a bleached blonde vampire. Never. 

Something pulls at her and causes her to watch over the view of park. She watches with careful eyes and her heart drops and shatters into a million pieces.


	3. Lie To Me Part Two

**Lie to Me Ch. 2**

**A/N: Just a warning to those who have already read part one of "Lie to Me"—I'm breaking this up into smaller parts so my head doesn't spin every time I try and edit… Sorry. I'm trying to get things done ASAP!**

_Something pulls at her and causes her to watch over the view of park. She watches with careful eyes and her heart drops and shatters into a million pieces._

_. . ._

She spies Angel across the way with a beautiful girl. Dark haired and dawned in an antique dress, this was a girl who would cause heads to turn, both now and back when Angel was a human. _Classic beauty,_ she thinks to herself. She watches as Angel treats her in a gentle fashion and the girl, smiles and places her delicate hand on Angel's chest. She sees him bow his head, sort of, and the girl looks up. Buffy swears that the girl looks straight at her, but she shrugs it off. The girl then proceeds to kiss his cheek before turning and bidding Angel what seems to be an intimate goodbye. Watching the events brings tears to Buffy's eyes, "I _knew_ he likes that kind of girl," She mumbles to herself. She turns before she can watch Angel mope the departure of what seems to be second girlfriend; Buffy turns and begins to run the rest of the way home.

As she runs, she finally allows tears to free fall from her green eyes. They stream down her face as she runs… straight into an old icy roadblock. "Goin' somewhere, luv?" A soft voice asks her as he grabs on to her arms gently. Buffy struggles as she tries to wiggle out of his iron grasp and her tears splash around. "What's the matter, pet?" He asks, truly concerned with the Slayer's state of being.

"Nothing," she lies as she is finally released. She rubs her shoulders where his fingers lay and begins to head home again.

Her roadblock doesn't believe her and proceeds to follow her closely. "You're lying." He states bluntly. Finally, he falls into step with Buffy. What is wrong? Something bout Angel, maybe?" With the mention of Angel, Buffy lets out a soft sob, but continues to walk fast to her house. Only four blocks left yet it seemed like four miles. When he sees the reaction about Angel, he smirks. "What did the little poofter do this time?"

Buffy takes a deep breath, preparing to come up with an elaborate lie. As she opens her mouth, her story falls flat. "N-nothing," she stutters, feeling defeated. As she continues her promenade, she feels him watch her with his cobalt blues intensely. Hating the feeling of being watched, Buffy finally succumbs to giving up the reason behind her depression. "Fine. It's Angel, happy now?" Her eyes shoot daggers at his amused expression.

"What did the poofter do this time?" He asks with a slight eye roll. If it was as bad as Buffy makes it, then it should be nothing less than the apocalypse. He watches her, waiting for her response.

Buffy sniffs, "He was with another girl." A single crystal tear escapes from her green eyes. She is trying to keep herself composed in front of Spike, but is actually slowly becoming more disheveled every minute. She knew she sounds stupid saying it, but she couldn't help but feel betrayed.

Spike cackles in delight, "What would he say if he knew _you_ were with another vampire last week?" His laughs stop when Buffy elbows him right below the rib cage. He narrows his eyes, "What was that for?" 

"Do. Not. Talk. About. _That_. Night," she seethes. She regrets ever kissing him. For the most part. She was vulnerable and she doesn't exactly want to embrace that fact. She begins to walk faster and Spike glares at her as he also speeds up to catch up with Buffy's pace. Hearing and feeling the cold presence of Spike, Buffy breaks into a jog and mutters "Just one more block," over and over. 

Watching the blonde speed up, Spike rolls his eyes. "Why not, luv? Seems to me that you enjoyed a nice snog." Spike smirks as he continues his saunter at a slower pace. He found it funny that she doesn't want to talk about that night, but her body and eyes scream '_kiss me like you did before.'_

Hearing his words, Buffy stops dead on the black asphalt. "I wish I _never_ kissed you, Spike. It was a fluke and will _never_ happen again!" She twirls to face him and shoots daggers at his laughing eyes. She crosses her arms in an attempt to look cross, but ends up causing the bleached vampire's smirk turn to a small smile. 

"I bet you it _will_ happen again, pet," he challenges. He takes a few quick large strides to rid of the space between them. He then proceeds to lift Buffy's chin with two icy fingers and places his own lips against hers. Taken aback, she sinks into the kiss and deepens the kiss. When realization finally kicks in, she pulls back rapidly and slaps him across the face. 

"Y-You jerk!" She sputters with eyes wide open. She feels so exposed, in a sense. It is as if Spike could just look at her, know what she was thinking and take it all away with just a kiss. Simple as that. Even though she always appreciated the simple side of life, just the thought of needing Spike for _something_ sickened her. Thinking about them _together_ flashes her a vision of the two of them together in a bed that was _not _at her own home. Just the two of them, tears in her own eyes as she clings to him as he just strokes her hair. She pushes back the vision as she swallows. "Can't you just leave me _alone?" _She begs with eyes glassy.

The look on Buffy's face alarms Spike slightly and his defenses fall. His expression grows neutral and he sighs slightly. Moments pass as he studies her distressed face before he speaks up. "Yeah. I'll leave you alone. Just don't come running to me next time your boyfriend is with another girl." His voice is hard and he doesn't even wait for a reaction before he turns and walks away from a distressed Buffy. Listening to her plea made him realize that this whole connection, relationship, or whatever the hell word could be used to describe this _thing_ between them. It is all some sort of game, and let's face it, he is losing. He knows Buffy doesn't really care, she only cares, loves if he daresay, for Angel. Angelus. The one with a bloody soul. But at this point, Spike no longer cares. If Buffy wants him to leave her alone, fine. But that just means Buffy was no longer off limits; no, she is the target.

As she watches the angry stride of Spike, Buffy shakes off the feeling of regret. His face dawned in hurt is too much for her to handle and it breaks her heart in an odd sense to watch him go. "It was for the best," she tries to encourage herself under her breath. "Liar," she accuses. She is conflicted beyond belief because she _knows _she's supposed to hate him but she can't help herself from almost _loving _him. She's constantly haunted with images of her and him together and she always looks happy, so she cannot help but feel a tug of desire. Sighing at her confused heart, she turns back to the direction of her house and slowly trudges the last of the block home.

. . .

Spikes quick fast strides keep him from thinking. He knows that if he slows down, even just a little bit, all his resistance to go back and kill Buffy would all be lost. Letting the cold air nip at his already cold skin, he finally reaches the last stretch of road before the old warehouse he and Dru occupy. A figure dressed in white pops out of nowhere and Spike stops to see who might be visiting. Looking at the body for a few more seconds, the identity of his mystery figure finally dawns on him. "Dru," he breaths nervously. She is defiantly was _not _supposed to be out in her current state of being. "Drusilla!" he calls loudly, his voice echoing. 

Hearing his beckon, Dru jumps a little, causing her dress to billow out around her. She turns with uncertainness, but breaks into a smile when she sees Spike's bleached hair in the distance. "Spikey! My tummy was rumbly," She smiles with fingers crossed behind her back. Her child-like mind still willed her to keep fingers tied tightly behind her back when telling a lie. As he approaches, she rapidly pulls her hand back to the front of her lace dress. "Why were you gone so long?" She pouts, putting on her act of innocence. 

"Out, looking for a snack. Din't find one." Spike says, adverting his eyes to the left. Remembering what Buffy had just done, Spike's undead heart fills with anger. Cautiously, he uses two of his fingers to tilt Drusilla's face toward him. "God, I missed you," he starts as he stares into her brown eyes, "Where were you?" 

Dru's face brightens even more and her pale cheeks almost illuminate. "I saw _him_," She says, her voice breathy. She escapes from his grasp and spins in circles. "He wanted to protect me from the slayer." 

Confused, Spike knits his eyebrows together as he tries to think about who would want Dru safe from the wrath of Buffy. As he rubs his forehead, the name pops into his mind. "_You_ were with _Angel?_" He almost screamed. Thinking about the whole idea of it made him nauseous, and when he actually realized that _Drusilla_ was the one Buffy say with Angel. His mind practically explodes and he blinks furiously in attempt to wipe the image out of his mind. Unable to be with the woman who just pissed him off, Spike pushes the spinning Drusilla out of the way and heads inside without her. 

After she recovers from the shove, Drusilla turns to the warehouse where Spike's figure is quickly receding. "What?" She asks, her mind in turmoil. She scampers to follow him into the building, but gets distracted from her question when she spots Edith halfway through the doorway. "Miss Edith! You would never believe what I did! I saw Angel!" She announces with pride, not remembering that _he_ is the reason she is crazy. "I gave him a kiss on the cheek!" Drusilla continues to jabber to the doll. 

From the across the room, Spike hears her comments to Miss Edith and he pinches the bridge of his nose. He could not believe that Dru would do such a thing that could potentially harm the plan of killing Buffy. He did, unfortunately, feel a pull towards her, but she wanted him away from her. So away he shall be. The comment she made about kissing Angel sends him over the edge and he lets go of being 'safe' with Drusilla, that she'll keep him from killing the Slayer, but her comments make him want to run to her house and comfort her. Trying to blink the urges away, Spike heads to the extra room with a bed, slams the door, and attempts to block out Dru's hypnotic voice. Distracting himself with botched murder plans, Spike slowly drifts into a slumber. 

In his sleep, he is shown vast numbers of visions. Him with Buffy and Dru in a crypt of a sort grace the behind of his eyeballs along with pictures of him and the aforementioned Slayer in passionate embraces. He sees a kinky image of himself in handcuffs then the blonde Slayer in the same cuffs.

. . .


	4. Lie to Me Part Three

**Lie to Me Ch. 3**

**A/N: Just a warning to those who have already read part one of "Lie to Me"—I'm breaking this up into smaller parts so my head doesn't spin every time I try and edit… Sorry. I'm trying to get things done ASAP!**

. . .

Once inside the safety of her house, Buffy finally lets herself go. Tears free fall from the corners of her eyes and her breathing hiccups in breaking sobs as she comes to a conclusion that Angel no longer loves her. Finally she appreciates the fact that her mom will not be home until later that night. It is only ten and Joyce would not be home for at least another hour. Hastily wiping her eyes, Buffy takes off up the stairs and bolts into her bedroom. After the door slams, she slumps to the floor with her back against the wall. Kicking off her shoes with her built up frustration; Buffy manages to put a small dent into the wall across from her. After taking a few deep shaky breaths she wills herself back up to her feet and drags them to her made-up bed. She then proceeds to collapse onto the blue covers. The tears are now dry and crusting against her olive skin and Buffy finally calms out of her funk. 

Though settled down, images of Angel and the mysterious brunette still haunt her mind. A tear tries to escape, but she blinks hard to get rid of the drop. She still cannot believe it, but what makes her feel even worse is when she remembers the look on Spike's face when she asked him to leave her be. His face was so _raw_ and she can still feel the pulse of regret that passed through her body looking at it. After much thought, Buffy decides to abstain herself from boys—vampires specifically. She fell into a deep slumber void of dreams or eerie visions. Slayer visions always equal no good in her book. Too bad that once she swore off vampires, her crush of many years back in Los Angeles comes out of nowhere. And guess what? He wants to be a vampire.

. . .

The next morning, Buffy wanders in the hall before her class aimlessly. She's ultimately still pissed about what had happened the previous night. As she walks the hall, her emotions take a downfall as she realizes for the second time that morning that she might have to break-up with her one true love. This thought alone brought on the waterworks. Moments later, she bumps into the happily chattering Jenny Calendar and Giles. They were talking about surprise dates and their happiness is welcomed to Buffy's current state of being. Just when it looks like they are about to kiss, though, Buffy intervenes to prevent too much cheerfulness can ensue. "Hey, guys," she says with a hint of depression dripping from her voice. 

Her sadness goes unnoticed between the happy couple and the break apart reluctantly. Ignoring the blonde for the most part, Ms. Calendar looks into Giles's eyes, "I gotta go, but I'll pick you up tomorrow, seven thirty okay?" 

Giles clears his throat and looks at Buffy nervously, wondering what in the world she thinks of the two of them. In all reality, Buffy thinks it's unbelievably sweet, but because she has just declared that day 'National Be a Bitch Day,' she rolls her eyes at the encounter between the two nerds. Giles looks back to the brunette, embarrassed, "Y-Yes, that sounds gr—good." Ms. Calendar smiles and leaves the Librarian and the Slayer alone in the semi-crowded hallway. He turns back to Buffy, "Anything on patrol last night?"

"Nope, nothing vampiry at least," she says, glancing to the left. "Nothing particularly _exciting_," she lies. She thinks she can hide the whole Angel thing from her Watcher, for he would just tell her to leave him. And all though she's thinking the same exact thing, she just _can't_. She still feels he love, even if he doesn't. Her mind flashes to the almost antique girl from last night.

"That's good, I think," Giles nods, with satisfaction. A moment of awkward silence passes, "Oh!" he exclaims. "I've been researching on our new friend, uh, Spike. He's not a nice fellow, but I haven't the slightest clue on to why he's here." His eyebrows knit together as he continues thinking about reasons the vampire would end up in Sunnydale.

Buffy's cheeks flush at the mention of the bleached vampire, but she quickly regains her composure. "Eh, you'll figure it out," she says, her voice shaking a bit. She takes a deep breath to say something about how Spike might just enjoy torturing slayers, but after some thought, she keeps her mouth shut.

Giles spies the inner confliction going on inside of the girl's head, and he grows worried. Something _must_ have happened last night for her to be so… gloomy. "You okay?" All he gets is a nod. "You seem a little bit... glum. Do you want to take that day off?" Giles asks, his stomach sinking. Buffy should be happy. She said she had an easy night the night before, but her behavior shows anything but easiness occurred the previous night.

At the mention of a night off, Buffy brightens. "I forgot about that, it sounds really nice." She recalls the day off she was promised the day before for good behavior and the whole Halloween fiasco. She thinks about the shared kiss between herself and Spike and she forgets, once again, that she's sworn off of vampires. Her guard is down, and that's never a good thing.

"That's good. That's good. You can get ahead of your studies, so you don't have to worry about them later an-" Giles starts with a smile, thinking about how she won't have to worry about school after tonight. All she would have to worry about is keeping the town safe. It is a good plan in his head, but Buffy begs to differ.

"Is there such thing as _fun_ in England?" she asks, the bitch inside of her coming out again to visit. Her eyebrows raise and her eyes question the librarian in front of her. A day off should be devoted to fun and other things, not studying so she wound drop out of school. Without her, there wouldn't even _be _a school. This tirade of hers even allows herself to momentarily forget about the whole Angel fiasco.

A moment passes as he thinks of a reasonable answer, "Yes, but's considered very poor taste to have any. Very well. Do whatever it is you like. You could spend some time with Angel." Giles reluctantly offers her time with the vampire she calls a boyfriend, he doesn't want to, but it seems like that's the only thing that will make her happy.

At the mention of Angel, Buffy is brought back into the land of despair. "No, I think he has other plans," she mumbles. Before Giles can ask what the problem is, the bell rings and Buffy quickly evades the question by turning and escaping to her classroom. There is no way in hell Buffy is going to explain to Giles Angel found another girl.

. . .

Settled in History class, Buffy stares out the window. Willow sits next to her, confused to why the blonde is acting so strange. An idea sparks in Willow's head that Angel is the problem. 'Everything okay with you and Angel?' she writes out. She tosses it to Buffy's desk as their teacher turns to the blackboard, talking about Marie Antoinette. She drones off a few more syllables before Buffy realizes the note on her desk. She bites her lip before responding. 'No,' she scribbles. She pokes the redhead and passes the paper along. Willow purses her lips before thinking about a response. The note flies beneath the teacher's radar, again. 'What's up?'

Buffy sighs and writes out how she found him with another girl last night. She tells her best friend that Angel doesn't know Buffy knows. She closes her eyes briefly to remember the heart-shattering moment before passing it on. Willow stares at the note in horror. She tries to comprehend the whole note while Cordelia rambles on about how Marie Antoinette was just misunderstood. "Marie Antoinette cared about them. She was gonna let them have cake!" The teacher rolls her eyes and begins to talk about the trial against Marie, not caring about her self-spoken student. 'Do you know who she was? A vampire, maybe?' There are a few angry underlines under 'vampire,' but Willow is nonchalant as she pokes Buffy with the note. The bell rings just as Buffy reads the note. She thinks about the possibility as she and Willow leave the eagle-eye of their teacher.

"I don't think so," Buffy sighs as she walks with her friend in sync. "She was just really pretty. She had dark hair and an old dress. It's like she's opposite me," she says lightly, hurt emitting from her voice. Angel _promised_ that he would love her, that he didn't like the girls from way back when. Well, this girl wasn't dressed like girls from his time, but she wasn't dressed from this time period. "They were also pretty friendly, you know he doesn't play well with the bumpy forehead-ed."

Xander choses this moment to join his friends, oblivious to their note-passing in the previous class. "Why the long faces?" he questions to the girls.

"Angel was with another girl," Willow peeps, only to get an elbow to the side. She looks at Buffy, rubbing her side, "What was that for?"

Buffy looks at the red-head in disbelief, "Do we have to go into share mode with this?" She knows Xander will love this news. He hates Angel even more than Giles does, then again Xander also has a massive crush on the Slayer.

Xander puts his hands up, "Hey, it's me. If Angel's doing something wrong I need to know. 'Cause it gives me a happy." He stares at Buffy's still glum face, "And speaking of a happy, you need some cheering up… how 'bout a crazy dance party at the Bronze?" With no response, even his face grows mopey. "A mope party at the Bronze?" Still no response.

All of a sudden, a handsome teenager comes up behind the gang, "I'd suggest a box of Oreos dunked in apple juice…but maybe she's over that phase." He smiles while Xander gives the newcomer a pissed off look. Buffy on the other hand, recognizes the voice and turns with a major smile.

"Ford!" She practically squeals and gives the teenager a bear hug. Ford gladly welcomes this and hugs her back. Xander squints at the interaction before coughing. Buffy remembers that there are introductions to be made and she turns to face her current friends. "You guys, this is Billy Fordham, otherwise dubbed as Ford. Ford, this is Willow and Xander." She points as she speaks. Ford nods to each of Buffy's friends before turning back to the blonde.

"So what's there for fun around here?" He asks innocently. He knows nothing more about the town except that there's a club where the people who want to be vampires reside. This club was famous in Southern California and the main reason Ford had moved to Sunny Hell. But he would never tell the slayer this, no she is his ticket to vampirism.

Buffy rolls her eyes, "Nothing, really. We _do _have this club, The Bronze. It's a nightclub, but the let all the high school kids inside, as long as they don't drink." She's acting like a typical teen, a terrifying scene for her Sunnydale friends. "Willow, Xander and I are actually planning on going tonight, ya wanna come?" She drops her eyes in a puppy dog plea.

He laughs and ignores Xander's pissed off look, "Anything for the girl who had a crush on me in the fifth grade," he bows, causing Buffy to gape at him and slap his arm. Willow and Xander give each other nervous glances about Buffy's behavior.

"Don't bring that up again! I was so devastated when you rejected me! I listened to 'I Touch Myself' by the Divinyls for months as I moped!" She looks at her old beau with wide-eyes, "Of course I had no idea what it meant, at the time." She looks off into the distance as she thinks about all the fun the two of them would have later the night, maybe she really _can_ get over Angel. And Spike. She shudders in remembrance that she still has another vampire interest to worry about. But it doesn't matter, she admitted her feelings and he denied her and walked away from a good opportunity. Or so she thought.

Ford only chuckles at Buffy's growing immaturity and looks briefly at his watch, "Well, I'll see you guys later, I've got to hit the admissions office." He salutes the trio and turns. But not before Buffy reacts.

"I'll walk you!" she declares. Buffy glances at her other friends, "I'll you guys in French!" she waves and hooks arms with Ford. She talks wildly, asking him questions about how life in Los Angeles was without her. He keeps his cover and mutters an abundance of lies. He will never tell her about his cancer nor his wants to live forever.

Xander mocks Buffy's, pretending to twirl his hair as he watches the duo leave eyesight. ""This is Ford, my bestest friend of all my friends," he pauses, breaking his character, "Jeez. Didn't she know any fat guys?" He really doesn't understand why falls for all these guys that just come from nowhere when _he's_ is standing right there. Her logic irks him very much so and he sometimes feels as if he's just going to explode or fall off the face of the planet.

Willow turns to her friends, about to comfort him when a light bulb goes off in her head. "OH! That's what that song's about!" She's talking about 'I Tough Myself,' the topic of a few moments ago.

"Oh, honey," Xander smiles at Willow's innocence and pats her head. "That's why I love you." Willow's face brightens at the mention of love, only to fall when she realizes he's talking figuratively.

. . .

About six hours later, the Bronze is hopping. The usual crowd is there, including Cordelia, rocking the night away. Ford already sits with Willow and Xander, obviously telling a story. Willow laughs happily and Xander smile politely. Buffy comes into the club, dressed to impress, surprised to see Ford already seated with her other friends. She bounces over to the beat of the music, "Ford! You found it!" She's a little bit hyper, maybe due to the fact that she's giddy her seemingly normal friend is here.

Ford looks at her strangely, "It wasn't that hard to find," he states. He looks back at a still giggling Willow, "I was just telling your friends about some of the wild times back at Hemrey," he explains. "I like the redhead, Willow, she's cute." Xander's ears perk up at the mention of Willow and his previously friendly face hardens. He was planning on playing nice for the sake of Buffy, but seducing another one of his friends is crossing the line.

"As long as it wasn't," she looks nervously at her friends on the couch, "_you know what,_ I'm fine. I won't have to kill you," Buffy smiles. Deciding she nee hydration to dance that night she announces she's going to get a soda. As she turns toward the bar, she calls out to Ford, "Don't talk about me while I'm gone!" With that, she hops toward the bar where Angel stands, hidden. 

"I know all of your darkest secrets, Summers! I'm your worst enemy!" He chuckles as he sits back down with Willow and Xander. Xander mumbles a threat under his breath, but Willow coughs to cover it up, giving her dark-haired crush a stern look.

At the bar, Buffy comes up to the wooden furniture piece and proceeds to order a diet soda. Angel comes up behind her and places an icy hand on her shoulder. She shudders, prepared to face Spike, only to realize it's her other vampire. The one who decided the previous night to lie to her. "Angel," she greets with lips tight. She cannot believe he would be here of all places. She quickly scans the room for the beautiful girl, but doesn't find her. "What do you want?" She demands, her eyes narrowing on his drink. "Wait? You drink? Like real drinks? The non-blood variety?" She mind's in shambles at the thought vampires eat and drink. It just isn't normal.

Angel shrugs, "To pass the time. There's a lot you don't know about me," he puts simply. He doesn't mean anything hash about it, just doesn't know much about vampires. The books and facts Giles feeds her aren't exactly true. People wrote them, and people lie.

His response angers the hell out of the blonde and she huffs in displeasure, "You're right, I don't." She storms off, without her soda, back to Ford and the others. Angel looks at her oddly and follows her to the couches. He watches as she greets her friends, and a new boy. To him at least, the others already know about him.

The new one, Ford, looks at Buffy, from a game of pool he and Xander started a moment ago, "Didn't want that soda anymore?" he spies the older man, Angel, behind Bufy but ignores him. Buffy shakes her head and Ford laughs. "You really are a strange one, Summers."

Displeased with Buffy's interaction with the new member of the group, Angel steps in. Willow is the only one to notice him and gives him a nervous wave. She didn't think Angel will like Ford much, him being mortal and attached to Buffy so soon. "Hi, Angel," she squeaks. She also likes Angel, but she refuse to let it show. If Xander is unhappy with _Buffy_ falling for a vampire, things will only get worse when he finds out when he finds out she too fell victim to his charm.

Buffy looks up to see her beau and rolls her eyes, "Don't you have anywhere else you'd like to be right now?" She asks bitterly. She shoots him a look filled with daggers, but the vampire doesn't even waiver. Willow gives her friend a look, as if asking what the heck she is doing, and Buffy takes a deep breath. "Angel, this is Ford. Ford, this is… my friend, Angel."

Angel sticks out his hand and Ford shakes it, surprised on the cold body temperature. He gives Angel a look, but resumes his game with Xander. The encounter causes Xander to smile, neither of Buffy's boyfriends like each other, and things are definitely about to get interesting. But they don't, not yet. Buffy furrows her eyebrows at the exchange and turns to Ford, "I'm a little warm, you want to take a walk?" she asks, keeping her eyes at Angel. He hides his emotions, looking nonchalant. Ford happily accepts and leads Buffy out of the Bronze.

Xander watches them go and tsks. "Once more, with tension, please," he says sarcastically. He gazes at Angel's look and laughs bitterly, "You no likey the new guy?" When Angel shakes his head sharply, he laughs, then gets serious, "Neither do I, buddy."

Cordelia comes up behind the trio, "Hey, Angel! Who's that guy Buffy just left with?" She smiles as the vampire's face hardens. She can tell he wasn't happy with the couple and she figures she can now sweep him off his feet in a matter of minutes.

The group turns to face the pretty brunette, surprised that she came to join them. "Not a good topic, Cordelia," Willow says softly, eyeing the men in front of her. "That's Ford, Buffy's old friend from Hemery," she explains. Cordelia sighs that once again, Buffy steals a guy away from her grasp.

"Boy, does that boy move fast," Xander mumbles, only heard by Angel. This isn't exactly what Angel wants to hear, and he stalks off, unnoticed to the group. Cordelia makes a comment about how Buffy should really stick to one guy, but at this point, Willow and Xander are pretty intent on ignoring her. The brunette shrugs and bounces back to the dance floor.

Willow sighs and turns to the spot where Angel had just stood, "You could stay, An—," she looks at the empty space. "Or not." She bites her lip, sad that Angel left, but still happy, because otherwise she would be with two guys who don't share her feelings with her.

. . .

Finally gone from her seemingly embarrassing friends, Buffy sighs happily. She glances at Ford, "Sorry for the awkwardness earlier." She walks close to her friend, their elbows bumping occasionally. She can't explain it, but she feels like Ford's different from her other relationships. She shudders slightly as she remembers she still has to break it off with Spike, or life is going to become hell. Even though, she thinks she definitely has. She rebuffed him, so he should leave her alone and both of their feelings should dissipate, right? Wrong. Even thinking of it, Buffy knows she still feels the same tug as she did the night before. And a mile or so away, Spike can feel it too.

"Not a problem, that Angel guy's a little off to me though," he pauses for a second and glances at the blonde, "Is he your boyfriend?"

Buffy tenses and tries to think of an excuse. Moments pass. Nothing. She looks back at Ford, helplessly, "Um, no?" Her words come out like a question, puzzling the brunette. She couldn't really explain that he is a vampire she happened to fall in love with. He isn't supposed to know she's the slayer and that conversation would blow the whole thing wide open.

"Is that girl talk for 'yes?'" Ford asks, raising his eyebrows. It seems pretty obvious she has some sort of relationship with Angel, but she wouldn't admit it.

Buffy thinks, "I don't know, but can we lay off the tough questions for the night?" She knows as long as she doesn't have to talk about Angel, the topic of vampires wouldn't pop up. Boy is she wrong. Up ahead, a scuffling begins—a vampire attacking. She looks nervously at her friend, scanning her brain for ways to get him out and safe. A light bulb goes off. "M-My Purse!" She exclaims, turning them away from the fight around the corner. "I left it at the Bronze! Can you go get it?" He nods at her hurriedness and begins to stroll toward the club, again. "Hurry!" She waits until Ford's out of sight before turning back to the scene.

Ford, being the investigative spirit he is, stop halfway. He can't remember Buffy even bringing a purse. He hears some hisses and turns back to where he left the blonde. She's nowhere to be seen. Tip toeing toward the corner, a trash can flies in front of his face. He peeks his head over the corner to see the vampire turn to dust. He comes out of the shadows and Buffy's light bulb shatters.

"You're back?" she asks, her voice a bit shaky. "Did you get my jack—purse?" She looks at him, trying to determine if he just saw her slay the vampire. He doesn't look very surprised, so she shakes it off. Bad timing is all it is.

"You didn't bring a purse," he states. He knew she was trying to get him away from the slay, and he thought it is quite funny. "What were you doing?" he asks, thinking of the random excuses she may come up with. He has to enjoy what little time he has left with her before he sends her off to be killed.

Buffy panics. "There was a cat. A cat here and then there was, another cat. And they fought, the cats, and then they left." She says, biting her lip because she knows she sounds stupid. She looks around the alley, looking for obvious signs that vampires exist. Nothing. She smiles and straightens up, proud of herself.

Ford nods at her excuse and looks to make sure there is nobody surrounding the two of them. "I'm sorry, it just looked like you were slaying a vampire." His words are nonchalant and casual. Well, to him at least, to buffy, they were some of the most terrifying words on the face of the planet.

"W-Whating a _what?_" she screeches, worried that Giles might kill her when he finds out her identity is crushed.

Ford smiles, I know, Buffy. You don't have to lie. I've been trying to figure out the right time to tell you. I know you're the Slayer."

. . .

With Buffy gone, Willow and Xander head home with nothing better to do. Xander, still obsessing with Ford, falls asleep almost immediately after he arrives at his home. Willow, on the other hand, is restless. She paces her room thinking about how Angel is after a new girl, and just _letting_ Buffy go. With Ford. She groans at the thought, something is iffy about the old friend of Buffy's. Something ultimately off. As she turns to face her open door, she spots a very broody Angel at her French doors. "Angel?" she calls. She doesn't know _why_ she questioned herself, when the vampire was obviously right there. The redhead looks toward her door. No parents. She opens the door slightly and peeks her head out. "What are you doing here?" She asks softly to avoid her parents from coming down the hall into her room.

"I wanted to talk to you," he says, equal in volume. Willow's head spins as she thinks of the reasons he would want to talk to her, a lowly mortal. She takes a deep breath and motions for him to come in. He stands still. She tilts her head in questioning, forgetting a key fact of vampires. "I can't… unless you invite me. I can't come in," He explains sheepishly.

A light goes off and Willow smacks her head, "Right. Forgot about that one. I…invite you. To come in." She opens the door wider and heads back to her room. She spots some lacy panties on her bed and panics. She rushes to them and throws them behind a bookshelf. Her face is almost completely red when she turns back to the vampire.

Angel looks at her, worried, "If this is a bad time," he trails off nervously. She seems like she should be doing something else, and she doesn't really want the company.

"Not at all!" she says, a little too loud. She looks at her carpet bashfully, "It's just, I'm not supposed to have boys in my room." She looks up to an almost laughing Angel. She likes to see the emotion in his face and she smiles in spite of herself.

Angel does a sort of bow, "No worries, I'll be the perfect gentleman." Willow laughs and covers her mouth with her hand. She can really feel her little crush develop even more and she scolds herself. "I'm actually here about Buffy. And her friend, Form," Angel pipes up, breaking the girl out of her giddy daydream.

Willow's face falls and she looks at him quizzically, "Ford. About What?" She glances at Angel's annoyed look. It is pretty obvious that he doesn't like the guy and doesn't think he's right for Buffy. But then again, with Angel around, even Willow agrees there's nobody better for her friend. Most guys nowadays are insufferable and annoying as hell.

"Just things on the internet. Records, affiliates, or anything else you can get your hands on," Angel states, unsure how Willow will react.

Willow complies and heads toward the computer in her room. She begins typing, thinking about what she'll find about the boy. She looks up nervously, "If I say something you don't wanna hear, do you promise not to bite me?" He gives the words a brief moment of thought and gives the redhead a sharp nod. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

He gives her a nod, "When I was human, I never got this way. But I meet her, and it's jealously following me every time she's with another guy. But most of the time it's just petty. Not this time. Something in my gut tells me this guy is a bit off." He glances off, thinking there will be a time when he won't have to worry about Buffy worrying about other guys. He blinks slowly when he can't think of a time like that ever occurring.

A gasp comes from Willow, "He's not in the school records." An eyebrow raise from the vampire. "When you move, your school records transfer. He's currently not enrolled in any school right now!" Her voice raises slightly as she scans the screen. "It says he dropped out of school two months ago. Curiouser and curiouser!" Angel doesn't know this, but one Willow begins to drop classical novel quotes, things are about to get pretty interesting. He dropped out because—" she starts before her mother calls from the other room.

"Willow? Are you still up? You better not be on that damned computer!" Willow hears footsteps and she freaks.

"Come by at sunset tomorrow," she rushes in a hushed tone. She pushes him toward the doors, not even relishing the muscled body underneath. "I'm going to bed right now, Mother! I'm very sleepy!" she calls to her mother. Turning back to Angel, "Go!"

Angel looks at her frantic movements, a bit bemused. "Don't tell buffy what we're doing, all right?" Willows eyes widen slightly, but she nods besides the fact. Before she shuts the door, Angel slips his head in one last time. He places a gentle kiss on her cheek, "Thanks for helping me, I really appreciate it." With that, he's gone, leaving an awestruck Willow behind with a hand on her cheek. She squeals softly and shuts the door and proceeds to fall into a blissful sleep.

. . .

The next morning in the quad, life is practically normal. The birds are chirping and the kids surrounding Buffy and Ford area happy. They sit at the fountain in the quad, talking about when Buffy was chosen as the Slayer. "All of a sudden, my life revolved around Vampires. My grades bombed and I had no social life. I mean, you couldn't have a psycho cheerleader," Buffy says, remembering her life in L.A. It was truly astounding, and like it or not, Sunnydale is so much easier. She isn't popular to begin with, she still has friends, and her grades are still considered passing ones.

Ford chuckles as Buffy tells him the already known story. He'd done some research to ensure he can become a creature of the night, and he needs to be friends with the Slayer for it to work. He's to sacrifice Buffy to a vampire, and he knows just the right one. William the Bloody. He smiles as he reminds himself tonight is the night and he continues with his act. "I wouldn't say your social life was _ruined_, you made quite a hit at prom." Buffy rolls her eyes and is about to object, but he continues, "That night was amazing, watching the gym all up in flames. One moment, you're in a safe world when reality hit and the truth about vampires and demons comes out. I don't think anybody is ever going to forget you saved their lives."

"It's good to hear that. And it's good to be able to talk… to you. Someone who knew before and someone who knows me… during." She looks at him bashfully, "I'm glad you're here."

The bell rings. "Me too, Summers. Me too," Ford says with a smile. He stands up with Buffy and leads her into the school building. He keeps reminding himself that tonight he will be reborn and Buffy is going to be the one to help. He repeats this over and over in his head until Cordelia comes up to them in the hall.

"Buffy!" She greets with a phony smile. "You haven't introduced me to your new friend!" Cordelia turns to Ford, "Hi, I'm Co—"

The blonde rolls her eyes and drags Ford away from Cordelia's grasp. Ford gives Buffy a confused look and turns back to look at an awe-struck Cordelia. "Who was that?" He asks, checking her out a little bit.

"A bitch who wants to go out with you," Buffy says angrily. Her jealously is showing through and she acts abnormal, as if her feelings are slowly returning for Ford. She could practically see the drool coming from Cordelia. To her, Ford is just another guy to try to get away from Buffy. If only she knew this is the one guy she should let the queen-bee have.

He raises an eyebrow as he catches up with the fast paced blonde. He likes seeing the jealousy on Buffy's face; it just proves she's buying into his lies. He's about to point it out to her when they pass Willow.

Buffy smiles and stops walking abruptly, "Will! What's up?" She's glad to have a distraction from the previous few moments.

Willow jumps and looks at her friend and the not-school-bound Ford nervously. "Nothing," she lies quickly. She is actually looking for Giles to tell him about Ford, but she ran into the enemy. She knows most of his secrets and she doesn't want him to know she knows. She bites her lip and her eyes scan the hallway for the librarian for an escape. No such luck.

"You wanna hang? We're cafeteria bound. Me and Ford," Buffy says, motioning to Ford. The redhead shakes her head and begins to shift her wait, trying to think of an excuse to leave. Buffy's on to something, she gives her twitch friend a hard look. "Okay, Will, fess up. Have you been drinking coffee again?" It's a seemingly simple question because of Willow's low tolerance for caffeine.

The red head lets out an obnoxious laugh and turns to Ford, "It makes me kinda jumpy." She turns back to Buffy and starts bouncing, "I have to go. Away." With that, Willow turns and practically runs toward the library. She doesn't calm down until she's safe inside the safety of the book-filled room. "Giles?" She calls. Nobody's there. "Drat," Willow mumbles to herself as she sits down at one of the tables. "Now I have to wait."

Meanwhile, back with Buffy and Ford, they shake off Willow's crazy behavior, and continue towards the cafeteria. Their plan, though is once again interrupted when Giles comes from the Cafeteria, looking for the blonde slayer. "Ah, Buffy," he greets. "Ms. Calendar and I are going… somewhere… tonight. Here's her beeper number in case you need…" he trails off, remembering Ford is right there.

"Help with vampires?" Buffy offers, laughing at Giles's nervousness about the date. She's glad he found somebody to love.

Giles looks at her, surprised she just revealed her secret. Thinking she did it by mistake, he gives a fake laugh, "There's no such thing as vampires! You silly girl…." He trails off uncomfortably, unsure how to go on.

Buffy looks at her Watcher like he's crazy, which he is. "Giles, calm yourself. He knows. That I'm the Slayer," She whispers the last word so the surrounding student body doesn't hear. She gives Ford a small smile, just as Giles pulls Buffy away.

"You aren't _giving_ your identity away to impress boys, now are we?" Giles asks in a hushed voice. It seems everybody around her knows know. Her friends. Angel, though he is a vampire. Cordelia. Now her new friend.

Buffy smiles, "I didn't tell him. He just knew." She didn't think it was obvious in Los Angeles, but apparently it was. But she's glad, she hates to lie to friends. No, that's wrong. Just like she's hiding her semi-relationship with Spike. She blinks, trying to figure out where the bleached vampire came it, but didn't make a peep. Giles shoots her a reminder to beep if she comes into trouble, but Buffy shoos him away. "Go experience your frowned-upon fun. I'll try not to die." She laughs as she pushes her Watcher toward his second home. The library. She turns back to Ford, "Now, where were we?"

. . .

The librarian bursts into the library and Willow jumps up when she sees the tweed suit of the librarian. "Giles! We've got a _huge_ problem," she cries as she rushes over to him. He's about to attempt to calm the girl down when Ms. Calendar comes in, unaware of the red head's panic. Willow motions for her to join the group and she starts to fidget.

"Willow, calm down," Giles says, giving his date for the night an apologetic look. She nods and smiles, waving the situation away. He looks back at Buffy's friend, "Okay, now what's the problem?"

She takes a few shaky breaths before completely bursting. "_Buffy'sfriendFordisn'tevenenrolledintheschoolheha scancerandhe'shasafewblogssayionghewantst obecomeanexaltedcreatue_!" She screeches, slurring her words together. She nods, expecting the couple in front of her to understand, but they give her blank looks. She sighs and repeats he words at a drastically slower pace, "Buffy's friend ford isn't even enrolled in the school! He has cancer and he has a few blogs saying he wants to become an exalted creature."

Giles's eyebrows shoot up and Ms. Calendar's face pinches. "So you're saying, Ford is the enemy?" Giles asks, taking off his glasses to clean them and the brunette in the room tries to still comprehend the situation. Willow nods, scared for her best friend. "Oh, Lordy."

. . .

The school day continues and at one point, Buffy promises to show Ford around Sunnydale in an attempt to stay out of trouble. They had toured the whole city and arrive back at Sunnydale High a little past the sunset. It is dark, but no dark enough that one cannot see. "And here we end our tour of Sunnydale. You have seen the best of the best and the worst of the worst. Any comments about your stay?" Buffy inquires.

Ford thinks about everything he saw, which is practically nothing. "Um, is 'dull' allowed?" He asks weakly. Becoming a vampire in such a boring town is probably the worst idea he's had. But then again, he wouldn't be able to make the necessary trade-off. And this story wouldn't be told in the first place. Buffy nods sadly, upset that her town is so damn boring. He smiles and spots some movement across the campus. He lifts his hand and points, "Vampires." His voice is calm and steady, preparing to get questions ready in case he can get some one on one time with a vamp.

Buffy turns and grimaces "Must be the weather." She motions for Ford to follow her as she starts to head in the general direction. She stops, remembering that her friend has no way to defend himself. She turns to face him, and hands him a cross, "Stay close to me." He rebuffs the cross and pulls out a crudely carved stake. Buffy narrows her eyes but begins to walk again. The reach a patio type area and a small vampire comes popping out, jumping at the Slayer. Buffy easily tosses her aside when a larger, burly vampire comes out of nowhere. He tackles her far into the grass, causing a crash when they hit the ground. Buffy grunts and starts to kick the cold body off of hers.

Seizing the opportunity away from the Slayer, Ford pushes the smaller vampire to the ground. He pulls a stake to the center of her chest and she whimpers. "I'll let you go if you tell me what I want to know." She nods eagerly and Ford removes the stake from her chest. "Okay, where can I find William the Bloody? Spike?"

. . .


End file.
